No need to speculate, Woods knows a win will do the trick
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
ATLANTA -- Over the next four days, the projected standings for the FedExCup will dominate golf's virtual landscape.
You can check the minute-by-minute rankings out on PGATOUR.COM. Or if you're fortunate enough to be among the fans at East Lake Golf Club, you can follow the projections on the giant LED scoreboards.
And never fear, even if you're watching from your easy chair in the living room at home, NBC and GOLF CHANNEL will keep you updated.
Don't expect Tiger Woods to be worried about the permutations, though.
All he needs to know is that if he wins THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, he wins the FedExCup for the second time in three years.
It's that easy.
"Winning always takes care of itself," Woods said simply.
Sure, there are four other players who have that luxury, just as Woods does. But he won't be doing the math to see whether Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson or Heath Slocum can or can't overtake him. Unless, of course ...
"If I'm on top of the leaderboard, I look at the next four guys, yeah," he said with a sly smile.
And what if he should have a 15-footer on the 18th hole to win THE TOUR Championship, the FedExCup and that eye-opening $10 million bonus? Don't expect the world's No. 1 to do anything but concentrate on the task at hand.
"I'll probably equate it to this: When you have a putt like I did in 2000 to get into a playoff for the opportunity to win three consecutive majors and do something that hadn't been done since Hogan, when you're over that putt, all you think about is where you're playing that ball," Woods said.
"All the other stuff takes care of itself. It's nothing else but starting that ball on that line with the correct speed. That's it."
Woods has had plenty of experience standing over pressure-packed putts, too. He has won six times already this year and 71 times over the course of his career. Like all the great athletes, he knows what "the zone" feels like.
"I get into my little world, and my intensity just allows me to kind of go there," Woods said.
It should come as no surprise, but Woods' record at East Lake is extremely strong. Woods won THE TOUR Championship in 2007 and has finished second three times in six starts at Bobby Jones' home club.
"It's been a good year so far, culminating here at East Lake," Woods said. "I just played nine holes. I'm surprised at how playable the golf course is. The fairways are pretty wet, obviously picking up a little bit of mud. But the greens are unbelievable. They're firm. They're rolling out. You know, the deal with SubAir, it's pretty impressive how it takes the moisture out.
"Overall, I think we're looking forward to the week. We've got a great field here, as always, on just a wonderful golf course."
The caliber of the competition, as well as the challenge of the golf course, are two ways Woods would rate his victories -- that is, if he ever had the time to really sit down and evaluate the third-highest career total in the game.
Granted, he is no closer to Jack Nicklaus' 18 career majors after being shut out this year. But he won on the home tracks of Arnold Palmer and Nicklaus, as well as the likes of Congressional, Firestone, Cog Hill and Warwick Hills.
And in 15 stroke-play events this year, Woods has only finished outside the top 10 twice -- one of which was a tie for 11th. Small wonder, then, that the man with the surgically repaired left knee takes such satisfaction from his "comeback" season.
"I think that if you look at this year, I've won on some pretty good golf courses against I think some pretty good fields, and that's something that I've always been proud of, is if you can beat some of the tougher fields of the year,'" Woods said.
A win at THE TOUR Championship would give Woods his second seven-win season in the last three years. Only three times has he won more -- nine in the magical 2000 season and eight each in 1999 and 2006.
He enters the finale to the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup as the No. 1 seed among the 30 survivors. He'll have only one thing on his mind, though.
"You always have the same approach and same attitude that you try and win every tournament that you enter," Woods said. "So whether it's a regular TOUR event, a Playoff event, World Golf Championship, PLAYERS, whatever it may be, it's the same intensity. You bring the same attitude to play.
"There are a lot of things at stake this week, but as far as my season is concerned, I think I've had a very good season, a very consistent one, and one I'm very proud of. Obviously you'd like to win the FedExCup and win the whole thing, but we still have 72 holes, and we'll see how it turns out.
"As you said, a lot of scenarios there that could pan out, but you play well, you win it, and you take care of everything else."
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